Splatoon 2 Patch Coming Next Week, Makes Various Balance Changes

Splatoon 3 is on the way next year, but Nintendo isn't done supporting Splatoon 2 just yet. The company is releasing another patch for the colorful Switch shooter next week, on February 25, and it will make a swathe of weapon balance changes and other adjustments.

As detailed in the patch notes on Nintendo's support website, a number of weapons are getting nerfs and buffs in the upcoming 5.4.0 patch. Among other tweaks, various Dualies will have ink consumption from their shots decreased by roughly 5%, while all three variants of the H-3 Nozzlenose will have their ink consumption increased by 25%.

Nintendo is also adjusting a handful of stages with the patch. Specifically, the company is addressing an issue in Starfish Mainstage, Manta Maria, Kelp Dome, and Skipper Pavilion that allowed players to reach the opposing team's base by jumping from certain walls.

In addition, Nintendo is tweaking the number of points a handful of weapons need to charge up their special meter. The Kensa Splattershot Jr. and Kensa Undercover Brella will both have their point requirements reduced slightly from 200 to 190, while the Firefin Splat Charger, Firefin Splatterscope, E-liter 4K, and Custom Dualie Squelchers are having their point requirements slightly increased. You can read Nintendo's full patch notes below.

Splatoon 2 launched for Switch back in July 2017 and has been a huge seller for Nintendo, moving nearly 12 million copies as of December 31, 2020. This success is why it's no surprise that Nintendo is making Splatoon 3.

Splatoon 2 Ver. 5.4.0 Patch Notes

• Specifications for some of the main weapons have been changed.

  Weapon	Change
  Splattershot Tentatek Splattershot Kensa Splattershot Hero Shot Replica Octoshot Replica	Increased the likelihood the turf around your feet will be inked when firing.
  .52 Gal .52 Gal Deco Kensa .52 Gal	Increased the radius of ink that lands when you shoot far away by roughly 27%.
  Dapple Dualies Dapple Dualies Nouveau Clear Dapple Dualies	Decreased ink consumption from shots fired by roughly 5%.
  Splat Dualies Enperry Splat Dualies Kensa Splat Dualies Hero Dualie Replicas	Decreased ink consumption from shots fired by roughly 5%.
  H-3 Nozzlenose H-3 Nozzlenose D Cherry H-3 Nozzlenose	Increased ink consumption by roughly 25%.
  Squeezer Foil Squeezer Dualie Squelchers Custom Dualie Squelchers	Increased shot spread when firing immediately after jumping in normal stance by roughly 25%. There is no change to shot spread immediately after a roll

• Specifications for some of the sub weapons have been changed.

  Sub Weapon	Change
  Torpedo	Extended the time until ink begins to refill after use by roughly 8/60 of a second.

• Points required for using specials have been changed for certain main weapons.

  Weapon	Before	After
  Kensa Splattershot Jr	200	190
  Kensa Undercover Brella	200	190
  Firefin Splat Charger	210	220
  Firefin Splatterscope	210	220
  E-liter 4K	170	180
  E-liter 4K Scope	170	180
  Custom Dualie Squelchers	210	220

Stage Changes

• Fixed an issue in Starfish Mainstage in which it was possible to enter the opposing team's base by jumping from certain walls.
• Fixed an issue in Manta Maria in which it was possible to enter the opposing team's base by jumping from certain walls.
• Fixed an issue in Kelp Dome in which it was possible to enter the opposing team's base by jumping from certain walls.
• Fixed an issue in Skipper Pavilion in which it was possible to enter the opposing team's base by transferring between certain walls.

Other Changes

• We observed changes after distribution of Ver 5.3.0 and made adjustments to slightly lower the fighting power of certain weapons that could hold the battle line over a long period of time from further away compared to other weapons.
• In addition, in order increase the variety of weapons being selected, we made adjustments to several weapons to increase their competitiveness with the most popular weapons.
• We will observe the changes after this update and make further adjustments to Splatoon 2 in the future.
• When you download the latest update data, you will no longer be able to communicate in The Shoal with players using older update data.
  • This update also includes changes not listed here, such as improvements to the gameplay experience.
  • Sufficient space on the internal system memory or a microSD card is required to download the update.
  • Save data will still be available for use after downloading the update.